Let Spear be Your Santa Claus, ca. 1910 Clever Ikea and Container Store storage solutions are nothing new. Here’s a “bachelor chifferobe” from 1912. This single piece of furniture aims to provide the gentleman storage for everything he might need, as well as a writing desk! And “of course, a woman can use it too” … Continue reading A place for everything and everything in it’s place

Montgomery Ward & Co, 1922 The start of the roaring ’20s’ and swimsuits were still modest – for the men as well as women. Although not quite as fully covering as swimwear from a decade before (arms and legs are starting to show) they still cover more than they reveal. Look at the “hero” outfit … Continue reading “Add to the Summer Joy of Bathing”

Sears Special Sale Bulletin, 1918: If you’re not in the market for a man's wristwatch, how about a diamond ring for a mere $10? Granted the gold is 14 carat, and the diamond is 1/8 carat — well, almost. Zoom in to read Sears’ remarkably-honest fine-print copy… Continue reading Jewelry Suggestions for 1918

Was it hats that Sears was selling, or the American Dream? This catalog illustration portrays postwar manhood so idyllically that it’s hypnotic and a little spooky… Continue reading The Stepford Husbands

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We're celebrating all the abundance and excitement found in vintage 20th century American catalogs: the exotic, the fashionable, the surprising, the latest, the coolest, the cheapest, the oddest, the choices.

Not just Sears and Montgomery Wards, You could buy anything from a catalog in the 20th century: from a box of raisins to a house, from a computer to a car, from a billy club to an inflatable brassiere. The old-time printed catalog which arrived in your mailbox showed the 20th-century American Consumer just how to consume.